This blog post is a romantic comedy starring you, and your meet cute is your next book, novel or story.
It goes something like this:
You drop a cup of coffee, distracted and frazzled.
As you mop it up, an idea inkling pops into your head.
Your eyes soften. What if?
Now if at that point you usually think, “nah,” and carry on (swipe left). Or scribble onto a notecard that you later lose (ghost). Or start writing and let it fizzle out, unfinished on the page, as something to return to at a vague unspecified date in the future (bench). Or, worst case reject it and delete it (unmatch). Well then, I urge you to let yourself fall in love instead.
When you love your book, story or novel-in-progress you:
· Think about it all the time
· Look at it with pride and admiration
· See it for its potential
· Reach for it often (author Ian Williams says to touch your MS every day)
· Enjoy an initial rush of exhilaration as you get to know it
· Listen to its secrets
· Let yourself be vulnerable with it
· Let it surprise you, and sometimes tease you
· Embrace it with multiple editing hugs
· Encourage it to grow and evolve
· Stick by its side, even when things get rocky
· Stand up for it and protect it
· Talk about it in glowing terms
· Want the best for it
· Stay devoted to it and see it through
When I teach and coach writers something I say a lot is “keep going with this!” Maybe what I’m really saying is this story’s a catch worth investing your time and energy in. Writing is a long-term relationship with ideas! And when you put it that way, your affection for your work always matters. It makes every effort worth it. It grows and changes you. Love and devotion to your writing are what evolve you as a writer.
Suzannexo